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Saturday, August 23, 2014

Briton In Sierra Leone Tests Positive For Ebola


Liberia Battles Spreading Ebola Epidemic



The Department of Health says a Briton living in Sierra Leone has tested positive for the ebola virus.
The Department of Health said medical experts were assessing the situation "to ensure that appropriate care is delivered" and that consular assistance was being provided.
Professor John Watson, deputy chief medical officer, said: "The overall risk to the public in the UK continues to be very low. Medical experts are currently assessing the situation in Sierra Leone to ensure that appropriate care is provided.
"We have robust, well-developed and well-tested NHS systems for managing unusual infectious diseases when they arise, supported by a wide range of experts."
Journalist Katie Mark, who has just returned from Sierra Leone where she travelled to a village at the epicentre of the outbreak, told Sky News that people in the country are sometimes too frightened to report the virus.
"There are not enough resources being put into stopping the spread of Ebola. If someone dies the body can be sitting there for up to eight days and in that time the disease can spread further.
There is not enough knowledge about the virus and people are scared to report it.
"They see ebola as a death sentence, that if the family is going to die they would rather they die at home. They do not realise that if they get treatment their chance of survival is greatly increased."
The current outbreak of ebola has lea to 2,615 confirmed cases and 1,427 deaths.
More follows...  http://news.sky.com/story/1323650/briton-in-sierra-leone-tests-positive-for-ebola